In Pakistan, political language rarely belongs to the present alone. Whether shouted in a street protest, tweeted by a party loyalist, or aired on primetime television, the language is steeped in memory, often painful, always politicized.
Political and apolitical groups alike invoke past traumas using what psychoanalyst Vamik D. Volkan describes as “time collapse”, the conflation of historical suffering with current events to justify resistance or revenge. This time collapse is not only psychological but also deeply linguistic.
PTI supporters’ criticism of the current PML-N-led coalition government reflects more than mere political opposition. They reactivate past grievances to conflate with present injustices. By resurfacing old videos of the Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif and the Chief Minister, Maryam Nawaz condemning inflation and fuel hikes during the PTI era, supporters construct a counternarrative of betrayal and hypocrisy referring to the Rs8.36 petrol price hike on July 01.
The commentary of far-right YouTube journalists, like Imran Riaz, actively look for opportunities to amplify the discourse and discredit political parties, which oppose their ideology.
Through social media channels, especially Facebook, X, and YouTube, supporters circulate content that reinforces group memory and emotional solidarity, such as footage of flooded hospitals and administrative failures under the PML-N. The commentary of far-right YouTube journalists, like Imran Riaz, actively look for opportunities to amplify the discourse and discredit political parties, which oppose their ideology.
Among other references, the founder of PTI, Imran Khan, referred to past foreign conspiracies and the fall of East Pakistan to suggest his ouster was another betrayal of national sovereignty.
This cycle of reactivated trauma and selective memory creates an unending loop of resistance and revenge. If a political party is in ‘power, there is a fair chance it will choose to animate the sense of revenge. However, if it is not in a powerful position, it will choose to blame, criticize, and resist. Eventually, a cycle of revenge and resistance goes on, as it is a case in Pakistan.
PML-N actively employed the strategy of resistance against the PTI government during 2018-2022 by reactivating past grievances and episodes of perceived injustice. Central to this narrative was the disqualification and imprisonment of Nawaz Sharif, which PML-N leaders, especially Maryam Nawaz, repeatedly presented as politically motivated victimization.
These events were framed as an assault on democratic values, with Nawaz positioned as a symbol of resistance against a “selected” regime. Maryam Nawaz recalled her and Nawaz Sharif’s arrests as a continuation of persecution. Her public speeches, rallies, and media appearances invoked emotional memory to consolidate party support and delegitimize the PTI-led government.
Fast forward, PTI is now adopting a similar victimhood narrative with its founder, Imran Khan, positioned as a symbol of resistance against the PML-N government, among others.
On social media, these narratives are amplified using emotionally loaded visual language. Memes that juxtapose past with present to contribute to what may be termed a digitized memoryscape, a visual and linguistic representation of reactivated trauma for mass consumption.
The real cost of this linguistic strategy of reactivating traumatic memories is borne by those who do not speak at all, who are often caught in the crossfire of these narratives.
For young people, especially in digital spaces, the inheritance is a language of polarization. They grow up absorbing sentiments of hateful slurs. This framing normalizes resistance or revenge as a rational behavior, even though rooted in historical distortion.
To dismantle this linguistic cycle of trauma, Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services must invest in discursive reconstruction, not just traditional political education, and reform.
Higher Education curricula should include training in discourse analysis empower students deconstruct how metaphors, slogans, and framing shape perception. Understanding how popular political metaphors are such as izzat, chor, or ghaddar are not neutral descriptors but ideological signposts.
Journalists and content creators must resist the urge to simplify history into tales of betrayal and glory. Instead, they should promote polyphonic narratives that recognize multiple experiences of trauma, healing, and resistance, especially those of minorities and women, who are often left out of national memory.
Influencers, political commentators, and religious leaders must be held accountable for linguistic incitement. A code of ethics for political communication, especially on social media, should address the dangers of metaphoric absolutes and historical collapse.
National dialogues and truth commissions should not only focus on legal restitution but also on reframing public memory in a way that dignifies suffering without turning it into a currency for political gain.
As long as historical trauma is linguistically reactivated to justify present-day hostility, Pakistan’s civic imagination will remain chained to its past. This finding can be applied to traumatic memories netted by both local and global apolitical groups.
The victimization of any group or individual is a violation of fundamental human norms. However, when it comes to politicians and certain groups, one might question whether they should always be viewed through the same human lens, given the complexities of their actions and motivations.
However, if language can hurt it can also heal. Just like slogans, metaphors, and hashtags can divide, they can also unite, if crafted with empathy and accountability. Until that shift occurs, it is the common people who will continue to bear the brunt.
The first author is a Professor of English at Riphah International University, Lahore. He is a lead guest editor at Emerald and Springer publishing.
The second author is an Assistant Professor of English at Govt. Graduate College for Women, Samanabad, Lahore